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Independent Travel to Hong Kong is on the Rise

Hong Kong has become the 10th destination in the world and the 3rd in Asia in terms of total outbound spending. According to the UNWTO Tourism Barometer, in 2016, this metric reached US$24.2 billion. The result of per capita spending is even more remarkable, US$3285, which puts Hong Kong in the first place among the ten largest markets.

Hotels in Hong Kong enjoy higher occupancy these days, but they are not alone in the region. For example, outbound tourism to Thailand added 12% to 0.75 million in 2016. That’s a significant growth, given that in 2015 the growth estimated 15%. Tourism to Japan added 65% in 2015 and another 21% to 1.84 million in 2016. Despite the growing cost of Japan holidays, the increase in the number of foreign tourists during Chinese New Year was 3% to 5% in 2017.

When it comes to travel to Hong Kong, independent travel is the dominating one. This year, visitors of ITE Hong Kong were surveyed and asked to answer several questions about their vacation to the city. As many as 87% respondents out of 5,000 mentioned that they were independent travelers or traveled in a private group. Moreover, more than a half of respondents (60%) say that they not only book hotels themselves but also purchase airline tickets. More than 30% of the surveyed people say they are interested in onsite hotel bookings. That’s a significant shift that shows that modern travelers become more independent.

ITE Hong Kong is a large travel fair that has been held annually for more than 30 years. The two-day long exhibition usually draws more than 12,000 visitors from the industry and more than 9,000 curious travelers. The vast majority of visitors are from Asia Pacific region. The exhibition is dedicated to different aspects of work of the hospitality industry, including regional travel, corporate travel, trading seminars with industry insiders, and more.

This year’s exhibition attracted participants from 56 countries and regions. There even were official country pavilions from China, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Macao, Hong Kong, Thailand, Sabah and Penang, and other destinations. The event is supported by China National Tourism Administration and Hong Kong Tourism Board. The next exhibition will be held in June 2018.